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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Dude's been a known racist scumbag/slumlord for YEARS. I mean, I'm sorry if you missed the expose ESPN the Magazine ran FIVE YEARS AGO on this very topic (more people have read it in the last 3 days than the previous 5+ years), and the myriad of other blurbs that have appeared about his questionable run ins through the years. But for those close to the game (or even semi serious fans) now claiming to be "shocked" in the wake of these supposedly incendiary tapes, I have only the words of Gordon Gecko to help soothe your pain. "You're walking around blind without a cane, pal"...

And that's what's pissing me off, too. Not that this guy is a racist. Again, that's old news with which I came to terms long ago. And he deserved to be smacked upside the dome by Adam Silver and his lifetime BAN HAMMER. No. What gets me here, is all of these people calling for his ouster now, on the heels of what's easily his least offensive racial incident! (go ahead, Google your face off. I'm right) Essentially sending the message that, "We'll work with a man we know to be a racist, until everyone else knows he's a racist.. Then we'll become outraged, and ride him out of town on a blazing rail"...

I hate having to sound like I'm defending an immoral shit bag, too. Because I'm totally not. But when I hear someone like Doc Rivers, who HAD to have known about Sterling's "checkered" racial past before traveling across the country to accept the man's money (he played for the guy, for Ted's sake), coming out and saying he's shocked and embarrassed. Well, yeah. Sorry if I can't take that at face value. Yeah, you're sorry that people found out that you were willingly and knowingly taking money from an immoral d-bag. That sucks. I'd be embarrassed if I were outed in that fashion, too. But, yeah. Unless Doc, his coaches, and his players had NO IDEA who they were signing up to work for (virtually impossible), then I'm going to have trouble treating their "outrage" as anything more than face saving, back pedaling, or whatever metaphor you'd like to choose that represents a person trying to sheepishly skirt their responsibility and avoid further embarrassment...

That's my one beef with Silver's BAN HAMMER press conference. Citing Rivers as a leader throughout this entire situation? Fairly laughable. But then again, most of the accolades heaped on Doc are exactly that. Including that honorary doctorate he's been toting around. That degree is in what, again? Basketball? And you got it from where? Hollywood Upstairs Medical College? Yeah, exactly. You rat freaking bastard. Give me best to professor Riviera next time you swing by campus...

Not too little, but definitely too late...

But, yeah. It's just a sham, that's all. Sterling's a racist. Fine. And he deserves to be banned and have his ownership stripped for being such a wanton bigot. But he was a racist 2 weeks ago, and nobody gave a shit. Now suddenly, he gets baited by some gold digger into making inflammatory comments on tape, and he needs to be burned at the stake? Yeah, sorry. But this is nothing but a case of a league and it's players trying to save face. And it's as simple as that. Because if they really cared, they would have protested, spoken out, and attempted to force Sterling out of the league long before this latest incident making him the punching bag du jour...

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's gone. But not if all his ouster served to do was to allow another group of frauds to grandstand and back slap while in reality remaining the root of the exact problem they just claimed to have solved. Then, the only winners are the newspapers. Well, not literally. Because that industry is dead. But you see what I'm sayin'. The media giveth, and the media (with the help of a spurned mistress) can just taketh away. And that's all this was. Because it wasn't a problem until enough people knew that Sterling was a racist. A cone of silence that will always remain a problem when money is involved. And seeing as money is almost always involved, you can expect "shocking revelations" like these to continue indefinitely. Or at least frequently enough for the right people to be able to line their pockets and steer their agendas...

It's a sad commentary, I know. But this whole saga only goes to prove that most people, no matter what they actually say, are more concerned with making a buck and/or making themselves look good than they actually are concerned for the common good and doing what's right. Call it capitalism, call it competition. I'm not here trying to tell you what's right and what's wrong. Just don't try to tell me that this was a victory for race relations and equal rights in this country. Because nobody won here. And it's high time he stopped giving praise to people for only eventually doing the right thing. We're better than that. At least I continue to hold out hope that we are...

And that's all I've got. Meaning we'll catch up with the Red Friends, next week. I'm sorry, but hollering from atop a soapbox can be a lot more taxing on the ole infrastructure than you'd think. Hope you enjoyed, though. And I'll catch you Teds next week...

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Hey, friends. Just thought I'd drop some Red Sox notes on ya. Ya know, since I'd rather let Lindsay Lohan put cigarettes out on me than watch the NBA or NHL playoffs. No, seriously. I mean, that statement was originally intended to serve as some sort of hyperbole. But that kind of sounds like a good time. Freakin' Lindsay Lohan. And you know she's gonna need a place to put out all her cigs, too...

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Greetings, my damies. I'm back! Just like Mad Men! And on #PootieTangTuesday*, no less!

Now, unlike Mad Men, I was only gone a few weeks. As opposed to a few years, or however the Hell long those rat bastards let Breaking Bad steal the spotlight. Too long, I know that much. But I'll get into that, as I get back into the groove. With a few news and notes, and whatnot. You know, ripped right from the Tedlines and such. Enjoy...

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Well, friends. We've reached the Final Four. And while I'm not exactly thrilled with the remaining match ups (mostly because only 1 of the 4 teams remaining (Florida) would, to me, represent a worthy National Champion), I've obviously still got some thoughts on the 4 remaining squads. In list form, naturally. And we've got baseball to talk about, too. But that'll have to wait until next week. Not like that sport is goin' anywhere, anyway. Am I right folks? Yeah, I'm right. At least more right than I was about this year's Final Four. But I've got excuses as to why that happened...